Dealers know full well that these typically are among the most important weeks of the year – including Thanksgiving weekend and the end-of-the-year holidays.

December itself has been the largest sales month of the year for three consecutive years.

“The last 60 days of the year are a major focus for our dealership,” reported Greg McLean, finance director at Toyota of North Miami, FL. “We find this push creates momentum that we carry into the next year to assure we start the new year at full throttle.”

The industry rolled into November with total sales around 14.6 million, about the same pace as 2017, so it appears 2018 will be the fourth consecutive year of more than 17 million in sales. Last year finished at about 17.55 million, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).

Expectations among industry analysts are that this year’s sales ultimately will fall just short of 2017. Still, that’s higher than most forecast – under 17 million – when the year started.

“I am expecting to finish strong to make up for the last few months that have been flat,” said Jose Garcia, used car lead finance manager at Lake Park Toyota in Florida. Headwinds are stiff, though, including higher interest rates and higher average car prices.

Meanwhile, at least some dealers who work with Santander Consumer USA are primed for end-of-year sales opportunities:

“The last two months of the year are so vital to our overall success that we have scheduled two big sales,” said Bob Miller, general manager at Tomlinson Motor Company in Gainesville, FL.

“Historically, the fourth quarter … [is] more productive than any other time,” said Roger Myton, new car sales manager at Palm Beach Toyota in Florida.

“History has shown us that we have to commit to advertising and sales events in November and December, in particular, to keep our traffic count up,” said Nikolas Dial, finance manager at The Car Company Suzuki in Warsaw and Goshen, IN. “So that’s exactly what we plan on doing.”

So, although the clock is ticking down to the end of 2018, there’s still time to finish the year strong, and the Santander Consumer USA sales team is all about helping your dealership meet its goals.

Contact your Dealer Relationship Manager for details on how SC can help.